The Truth & Other Lies

Dear Mia; From, Your Date

"You know, you still haven't told me anything about it." Casey's voice floats into the bathroom from my bedroom, where she's currently standing in front of my bed, inspecting the outfit I've laid out for the evening.

"Anything about what?" I pause applying my liquid eyeliner to respond, though I know exactly what she's asking.

"About your first date with Hunter," she replies, her tone indicating that she's aware I'm avoiding the question. "I mean, it must have gone well, considering he asked you on a second one."

"I guess it did," I murmur, feeling twinges of excitement in the pit of my stomach as I push the mascara brush in and out of the tube to coat it in black liquid, my cheeks heating at the memory of our goodnight kiss. He'd texted me before I fell asleep, asking if I wanted to go out again and I'd replied yes almost immediately.

With an annoyed huff, Casey appears at the bathroom door, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door frame as she sends me a pointed glare. "You're being so vague."

"I just don't know that there's that much to tell," I reply, continuing to be vague as I apply the mascara, nodding when my makeup regimen is complete and turning to face her. "We went to dinner and then he kissed me goodnight."

I know that's the least detailed description of what happened. But honestly, I feel a bit strange sharing anything more with Casey. I felt as though Hunter and I made some real progress on our last date, and that he was finally starting to let me in. And that's good news, but for some reason, I feel strange sharing it with anyone else. Maybe I just want some part of what we have to stay just between us for just a little bit longer.

"So it was boring?" she asks, tilting her head to the side.

"No!" I reply automatically, pushing past her to enter the bedroom to begin getting dressed, "It was just a very normal date. And I think the reason he asked me out again is because he liked the fact that it was so normal. I get the feeling he doesn't feel like a regular person very often."

He'd mentioned before that he wished people didn't take his fame into the equation when hanging out, so I did my best not to pry into that part of his life too much. That being said, I know that I'll have to get more out of him eventually.

Casey echoes exactly what I'm thinking. "Okay. Look, it's great that you make him feel normal, but an article about how Hunter Caldwell is just like everyone else isn't going to fly with Lillian."

"I know," I sigh. I'm conflicted. On one hand, I am genuinely curious about that part of his life and I know learning more about it is what's going to get me into Lillian's good books. But on the other hand, whenever it's brought up, there's a certain amount of light that leaves his eyes, and I don't want to be the reason it extinguishes. "He's just very guarded. I think I'm making progress, though."

"Good," Casey nods, busying herself with looking at the various trinkets on my dresser as I strip off my fluffy purple robe and slip into my dress.

"What do you think of this outfit?" I ask her once the sleeves are pulled up my arms and she's zipping up the back.

"It's cute," she assures me, patting me on the back to indicate I'm all zipped up. "Where are you guys going?"

I turn to face her, feeling my cheeks heat slightly as I reply, quickly looking down as I slip my feet into my ankle boots to keep her from seeing me blush. "He told me to choose since he chose last time and I told him I wanted to go ice skating."

Ice skating is one of my favorite winter traditions. It doesn't matter where the ice rink is; whether it's outdoor, surrounded by twinkling lights, or a building in a strip mall, there's something magical about the frosty air and hearing the blades cut against the ice. My parents used to take me every winter growing up and I lived for the hours gliding along on the ice and the mandatory cup of hot chocolate that was consumed afterwards.